The Science Creative Quarterly

ORDER OF THE SCIENCE SCOUTS OF EXEMPLARY REPUTE AND ABOVE AVERAGE PHYSIQUE

For the propagation of an ideal where science communicators can meet firstly, for drinks; secondly, for communicating; and ultimately, for networking. Joining is easy – please simply provide name with your city and a corresponding link (or more – we can take up to 3). Links should be something or other that demonstrates your science communication fit. Information in that regard can be entertained by emailing tscq@interchange.ubc.ca.

– grieving for the slow and miserable death of the Hubble Space Telescope.

– possibly possessed of supernatural powers.

– not in the business of total world domination

– committed to the constant and diligent presentation of science stories, be it to editors, producers, directors, educators, relatives and/or friends of various ilk, in an effort to lessen the gap that is this thing we call public scientific literacy.

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Our anthem: “Increase the N” (from HEFE – click on the song in the myspace player – lyrics)

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Our Badges (so far):

ANYONE IS WELCOME TO USE THESE BADGES, ALTHOUGH A LINK TO THIS PAGE IS MUCH APPRECIATED. EVEN BETTER IS IF YOU PROVIDE AN ANECDOTE OR COMMENT (AT YOUR OWN SITE) TO EXPLAIN YOUR REASON FOR AWARDING. (contribution credit)

The “talking science” badge.
Required for all members. Assumes the recipient conducts himself/herself in such a manner as to talk science whenever he/she gets the chance. Not easily fazed by looks of disinterest from friends or the act of “zoning out” by well intentioned loved ones. (DN)

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The “MacGyver” badge.
In which the recipient has demonstrated that his/her science communciation prowess was handy in simplifying a potentially challenging scenario. For example, was able to escape from unjustified prison term, with the clever use of a paper clip and WD-40. You know, that kind of thing. (Note that display of badge must be accompanied by explanation). (JN)

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The “Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah, I’ve got a TV gig” badge.
In which the recipient plays a significant science performance role in TV. This badge is nullified if recipient is always shown wearing a lab coat. (JG)

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The “I’ve been published at the New Yorker” badge.
In which the recipient has published a science piece at the venerable New Yorker. Pretty much means the recipient has to pay for drinks in subsequent meetings.

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And the “I’ve been rejected by the New Yorker” badge.
In which the recipient doesn’t have a problem accepting aforementioned free drinks.

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The “I blog about science” badge.
In which the recipient maintains a blog where at least a quarter of the material is about science. Suffice to say, this does not include scientology.

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The “arts and crafts” badge.
Because you can’t have a bunch of badges without an arts and crafts badge. This one assumes the recipient has all manner of “craftiness” with a sciencegeek twist. (AC)

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The “I’m pretty confident around an open flame” badge.
Recipients have demonstrated proficiency around open flames in laboratory settings.

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The “inappropriate nocturnal use of lab equipment in the name of alternative science experimentation / communication” badge.
In which the recipient has “borrowed” scientific supplies for the sake of stealth scientific communication. (JG)

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The “destroyer of quackery” badge.
In which the recipient never ever backs down from an argument that pits sound science over quackery.

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The “I may look like a scientist but I’m actually also a ninja” badge.
Lethal when in combination with the “destroyer of quackery” badge. (AC)

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The “I’m a freaking rock star who sings about science!” badge.
In which the recipient has released music where a science concept has been broached. (JH)

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The “Special Auxiliary Child Member of the Order of the Science Scouts” badge.
A special badge for the many children who are alarmingly smart about things of a scientific nature. Smarter than you and I even. (JS)

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The “sexing up science” badge.
In which the recipient has had experience with things such as selective breeding, crossing, mate selection, prokaryotic conjugation, fertility studies, STD related microbiology, and/or any other acceptable interpretation of the badge. (RPM)

The “I can be a prick when it comes to science” badge.
In which the recipient can be so passionate about things of a scientific nature, that he/she may appear surly, rude, and/or unpleasant.

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The “I left the respectable sciences to pursue humanistic studies of the sciences” badge.
In which the recipient is now probably having a lot more fun than he/she did before. (JS)

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The “I’ve touched human internal organs with my own hands” badge.
In which the recipient is “hopefully” doing something that is somehow related to human health. (JH)

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The “will glady kick sexual harasser’s ass” badge.
(And we mean “ass” in the most holistic of ways). In which the recipient stands up to such miscreants in the work place. Places of science should know better. (SF)

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The “has frozen stuff just to see what happens” badge (LEVEL I)
In which the recipient has frozen something in the freezer for the sake of scientific curiosity. (JL)

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The “has frozen stuff just to see what happens” badge (LEVEL II)
In which the recipient has frozen something in dry ice for the sake of scientific curiosity. (JL)

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The “has frozen stuff just to see what happens” badge (LEVEL III)
In which the recipient has frozen something in liquid nitrogen for the sake of scientific curiosity. (JL)

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The “I work with way too much radioactivity, and yet still no discernable superpowers yet” badge.
…Although not for lack of trying… (JH)

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The “I bet I know more computer languages than you, and I’m not afraid to talk about it” badge.
It could get ugly when two or more of these recipients get together.

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The “respect me – I’ve published at an upper tier publication for popular science readership” badge.
In which the recipient has works in print at publications with circulations of 50,000 or higher.

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The “worship me – I’ve published in Nature or Science” badge.
In which the recipient has research published at Nature or Science.

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The “dodger of monkey shit” badge.
One of our self explanatory badges. (EM)

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The “knows how to harvest horse pituitary glands” badge.
Needless to say, this is one of our specialist badges. (JL)

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The “I will crush you with my math prowess” badge.
Seriously, scary stuff.

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The “inordinately fond of invertebrate” badge.
In which the recipient professes an arguably unhealthy affinity for things of this category.

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The “pharma shill” badge.
Medicine works, people. (SB)

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The “I’ve done science with no conceivable practical application” badge.
There are probably more who are deserving of this badge than you would expect. (BZ)

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The “knows how to collect semen from more than one species” badge.
That’s two species not including humans. (PZM)

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The “I know what a tadpole is” badge.
In which the recipient knows what a tadpole is. Basically, an easy way to get a badge that looks a little like the semen one above.

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The “I’m a scientist who is fundamentally opposed to administrative duties” badge.
Presumably a badge with a consensus even stronger than that seen in the global warming arena.

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The “have used a dental drill and I’ve never been a dentist” badge
We’re not sure if this is a specialist badge. We do hope so, though. (PZM)

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The “cloner” badge.
In which the recipient has cloned something or other. Rules to a drinking game concerning this badge will be forthcoming. (RPM)

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The “experienced with electrical shock” badge (LEVEL I)
In which the recipient has had experience with the electrical shocking of an organism. (SH)

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The “experienced with electrical shock” badge (LEVEL II)
In which the recipient has had experience with the electrical shocking of a human. (SH)

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The “experienced with electrical shock” badge (LEVEL III)
In which the recipient has had experience with the electrical shocking of himself/herself. (JL)

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The “totally digs highly exothermic reactions” badge.
Might be best to keep an eye on such recipients. (JM)

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The “science has forced me to seek medical attention” badge
In which the recipient has had to pay a visit to the hospital as a result of scientific work. (MF)

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The “somewhat confused as to what scientific field I actually belong to” badge
Also known as the transdiscplinary, interdiscplinary, or intradisciplinary badge. (D)

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The “I’m into telescopes astro” badge (LEVEL I)
In which the recipient has used a telescope to view celestial objects. (SS)

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The “I’m into telescopes astro” badge (LEVEL II)
In which the recipient has had time on a professional telescope to view celestial objects. (SS)

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The “I’m into telescopes astro” badge (LEVEL III)
In which the recipient has had time on a space telescope to view celestial objects. (SS)

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The “I’m into telescopes astro” badge (LEVEL IV)
In which friends agree that the recipient spends so much time on a telescope, that he/she even kind of looks like a telescope.

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The “statistical linear regression” badge.
We figured that if you actually know what those three words together mean, then you deserve a badge. Statistics rock! (NG)

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The “have violated the posterior of an animal in the name of science” badge.
For those who study medical and/or microbiological issues related to things carried rectally. (LL)

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The “world’s foremost expert on an obscure subject” badge.
In which the recipient is the leading expert in a fieldthat few others share an interest in. (MH)

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The “works with very small and potentially dangerous organisms” badge.
In which recipient conducts hazardous research on very small creatures.

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The “works with very large and potentially dangerous organisms” badge.
In which recipient conducts hazardous research on very large creatures. (MH)

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The “I’ve set fire to stuff” badge (LEVEL I).
In which the recipient has set fire to stuff, all in the name of general scientific curiosity. (AB)

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The “I’ve set fire to stuff” badge (LEVEL II).
In which the recipient has set fire to stuff, while fully aware of all combustion principles at play. (AB)

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The “I’ve set fire to stuff” badge (LEVEL III).
In which the recipient has set fire to stuff, while fully aware of all thermodynamic principles at play. (AB)

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The “I’ve set fire to stuff” badge (LEVEL IV).
In which the recipient has set fire to his or herself while performing experiments in the name of science. Cooking or drinking accidents do not qualify one for this badge. (JM)

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The “working on alternative fuels” badge.
In which the recipient actually tries to avoid burning stuff and is doing research on alternative fuels.

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The “works with acids” badge.
In which the recipient has worked with acids. (L)

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The “works with feces” badge.
In which the recipient has worked with feces. (H)

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The “works in feces” badge.
Clearly, different from the above and deserving of a badge.

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The “has done science whilst under the influence” badge.
This can apply to both achieving moments of intellectual clarity or actual performance of an experiment whilst under the influence. It presumes talking about science under the influence a given. (JD)

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The “I AM actually a freaking rocket scientist” badge.
For members who can utter the phrase “It’s not rocket science” with authority. (DG)

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The “I’ve eaten what I study” badge.
Recipients have prepared their object of study as a cuisine item for eating. Hopefully, the minority of MD’s are ineligible for this one. (J)

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The “I’ve had to use the safety shower in my lab” badge.
Photographs accompanying this badge should be worth at least a free drink or two.

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The “I didn’t bathe at all for an entire month, because of science” badge.
Ah the joys of field work… (SW)

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The “I build robots” badge (LEVEL I)
In which recipients have built a remote control robot. (R)

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The “I build robots” badge (LEVEL II)
In which recipients have built a semi-autonomous robot. (R)

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The “I build robots” badge (LEVEL III)
In which recipients have built a fully autonomous robot. (R)

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The “I build robots” badge (LEVEL IV)
In which, technically technically, the recipient is not in the business of world domination (as dictated by membership rules), but has built a robot that is. (R)

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The “active volcano is my research locale” badge.
More exotic than the usual laboratory bench. (R)

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The “I may look like a scientist, but I’m actually also a pirate” badge.
Drinks rum. Into pillaging and stuff. Soft spot for evolutionary biology. (J)

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The “what I do for science dictates my having to wash my hands before I use the toilet” badge.
Another badge that is more common than you would think. (J)

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The “I actually grew up AND became a marine biologist” badge.
Out of the millions of children who aspire to work with dolphins and their ilk, this recipient is actually someone who does precisely that.

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The “I actually grew up AND became a paleontologist who studies dinosaurs” badge.
Out of the millions of children who aspire to work with dinosaurs, this recipient is actually someone who does precisely that.

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